Li Shuang (right) and her parents, seen here on their trip to Thailand last year, are heading for a 10-day-tour of Italy during the Spring Festival holiday this year. Provided to China Daily

Around 12 percent of Chinese tourists went to Europe last year, 8 percent to Western Europe (EU countries plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) and 4 percent to emerging Europe, according to the research body's figures.

"It is certainly growing. The Chinese travel market is growing in general. There is a rising middle class and society is increasingly wealthy," he says.

But he says it is important not to get too carried away. Chinese tourists still represented only 0.9 percent of the total European travel market.

"There is a lot of potential but potential is the key word. There is a long way to go before you see it start competing with the likes of Japan."

Many in the European travel industry believe Chinese tourism to Europe would expand at a much faster rate if foreign travel companies were given greater freedom to operate in China.

Following China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, foreign travel companies were allowed to operate in China but have been denied the right to offer holidays to Chinese people wanting to travel abroad.

Antonella Silvestri, co-chair of the Travel Working Group of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, believes this lack of freedom to operate is a real barrier to the development of the travel market in China.

"I think if this step were taken the whole market would become more competitive and there would be more products offered to Chinese travelers.

"What you have got at the moment is quite standardized in terms of the products. The industry is at an initial stage and is not a mature tourism market."

The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) announced in September a pilot scheme for foreign companies to participate in joint ventures offering outbound trips to Chinese people.

The details of this were not revealed in November as scheduled and Silvestri is frustrated by the further delay.

"We cannot understand why this has not happened. I think many in the leading Chinese tourism bodies realize that competition would bring in more management skill and flair," she says.

But Ding Ding, a spokesperson for Beijing-based Byecity, one of China's leading tour operators, rejects the notion that domestic travel companies are incapable of offering exciting holiday packages to Europe.

"Europe was one of the regions which was opened earliest to Chinese tourists, so the tourist products provided by travel agencies are relatively mature.

"France, Germany, Italy and Greece are among the most popular destinations and our agency will do any travel route in Europe, if possible."

Ding, whose company has major bases in eight Chinese cities and employs 500, says tourists spend on average between 10,000 and 18,000 yuan (1,150 to 2,015 euros) on a trip to Europe.

She says more than 1,000 people have booked with the company to go to Europe during the Spring Festival period alone. The company handled 10,000 passengers to Europe last year.

"The majority of the people are between 30 and 50, who often visit once or twice a year. Many of them work for foreign companies in China," she says.

"Around 5 percent of the market is senior citizens who are often making a once-in-a-lifetime trip over a longer period."

Ding says Chinese tourists often want to make big purchases on their travels.